ABOUT

Montreal is The Fight City. Known in decades past as “Sin City” and “Babylon on the St. Lawrence,” it saw more than its share of ring legends over the decades. Beau Jack, Joe Jeannette, Ted “Kid” Lewis, Jake LaMotta, Sandy Saddler, Rocky Graziano, the real Kid Chocolate and many others all plied their harsh trade in “The City of Saints.” It remains a metropolis of bright lights and dark desires, where hundreds of young warriors train and battle in its crowded gyms, where thousands come to watch Adonis Stevenson, Lucian Bute and Jean Pascal, and where Archie Moore, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and Bernard Hopkins all found greatness. It is a city of fights and fighters, of hockey and heroes, of gangs and gangsters, of wild women and wilder nights. It is a city unlike any other. It is The Fight City.

Yvon Durelle and Archie Moore wage war at the famous Montreal Forum.

The Fight City is proudly based in Montreal but covers the sport of boxing on a global and historical basis. We offer an independent boxing website with a literary edge that embraces this brutal, cruel, glorious, heartbreaking sport in all its facets — the good, the bad and the ugly. We feature frequent posts on what’s happening right now, along with special articles bringing to life the matches and drama of boxing’s rich history, plus fight reports, videos, Top 12 lists, profiles and more.

Montreal’s famed St-Laurent Street, known as “The Main” during the jazz era.

Except where otherwise noted, our essays and articles are all original to this site and all rights are reserved. No part of this website, including its content and source code, can be reproduced in any way without prior consent from The Fight City. This website is completely independent, is strictly for informational and entertainment purposes, and is in no way affiliated with any other boxing organization. All images and videos are copyright their respective owners unless otherwise noted. No copyright infringement is intended. All content used in adherence to Fair Use copyright law. If you would like an image or video removed, please let us know and we will do so promptly.

The island of Montreal from far above.

Site Features:

Boxiana: Comprised of three sections — Fight City Classics, Fight City Reviews, and Fight City Legends — our Boxiana page offers a unique tour through the unique personalities, stories and events which together have allowed boxing to inspire the best writing and the most memorable cinema of all sports.

Lee Wylie: Exclusive to The Fight City, Lee Wylie, known throughout boxing circles for his analytical acumen and insightful writings, offers fight fans his unique and detailed look at the tactics and strategy involved in professional boxing.

The Top Twelve: Everyone loves Top 10 lists, but since a championship fight currently has 12 rounds, we go a bit further. Check out our detailed lists on the best fights, fighters, upsets, rivalries, southpaws, and trainers, the worst cheap shots and the hardest punchers.

Columns:Frank and insightful opinion pieces exclusive to The Fight City which help make sense of the bizarre world that is professional boxing. As we are not affiliated with any boxing organization or power broker, we are free to, as Howard Cosell liked to say, tell it like it is.

The Fight City: Here we feature posts which take visitors to the streets of Montreal and offer an inside look at the boxing scene in “The Fight City.”

Downtown Montreal.

Our Team:

Michael Carbert, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, has published work in various magazines and newspapers including The Montreal Gazette and CNQ magazine. His feature article in Maisonneuve on the Montreal boxing scene was nominated for a 2008 National Magazine Award. Originally from Ontario, he now resides in Montreal which is fitting since the bout which ignited his zeal for this brutal sport remains “The Brawl in Montreal,” that first, historic clash between Roberto Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard.

June 20, 1980: Leonard and Duran mix it up.

Zachary Alapiwrites about boxing for various websites and holds an M.A. in Creative Writing from the University of New Brunswick. He lives and teaches in Montreal.

Daniel Attias hails from Sydney, Australia and has been a fight fan since a young Russian-Australian named Kostya Tszyu took the 140-pound division by storm. His work can be found in the Australian Boxing Legends magazine and on Boxing.com. Follow Daniel on Twitter @Dan_Attias.

Damien Burton is a UK-based freelance artist/illustrator whose intrigue for boxing was sparked by the vibrant British scene of the late 80s & early 90s. You can find him on Twitter @Mr_Yib and view his work on Instagram as @burtonart.

Patrick Connor is a boxing fan and historian from San Diego, California, currently calling Portland, Oregon home. He started writing for MaxBoxing in 2004 and has since contributed articles, interviews and videos for numerous websites and publications including BoxingScene, BoxeoMundial, TalkingBoxing, The Boxing Bulletin, The Queensberry Rules and The Guardian. You can also find his work at Knuckles & Gloves. Patrick can be reached on Twitter via @PatrickMConnor and @BoxingHistory.

Sean Crose has been a die-hard fight fan since before Leonard first faced Duran. Aside from The Fight City, Sean’s work can be found at Boxing Insider and at Box Mad Magazine. A member of the English Department at Post University, Sean’s writing has appeared in such outlets as Fiction 365, Linguistic Erosion, Crack The Spine, and The Copperfield Review. He lives in Connecticut.

Michael Ezra is the author of Muhammad Ali: The Making of an Icon and is the co-editor, with Carlo Rotella, of the acclaimed anthology The Bittersweet Science. His work has appeared on Deadspin, Politico, The Guardian, and Al Jazeera. You can find Mike on Twitter @realmikeezra.

Jeffrey Fuss is from Shepherdstown, West Virginia. At West Virginia University he won the 2016 National Collegiate Boxing Association’s light heavyweight championship. He currently resides in Shenzhen, China teaching English as a Second Language. Some of his favorite boxers include Arturo Gatti, Jorge Linares, Emmanuel Augustus, Wilfred Benitez, and the Four Kings. He can be reached on Twitter via @sweetscience4

Rafael García is from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. He studied Economics at Montreal’s Concordia University and his twitter handle is @mccready82. His favorite fighters are Roberto Duran and Salvador Sanchez. His last and only fistfight took place in his early twenties in a train station in Marseille at four in the morning. He won by TKO.

Danny Howard is a lifelong boxing fan who has covered the sport for FightHype, The Examiner and The Boxing Tribune. His favourite fighters are Sugar Ray Leonard, George Foreman and Evander Holyfield and his first novel, “And Stay Down! Boxing’s Worst Comebacks,” is available on Amazon.

Joshua Isard is a writer and teacher living in the Philadelphia area. He’s the author of the novel Conquistador of the Useless, and directs the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Arcadia University. His favorite fighters are Bobby Chacon, Gennady Golovkin, and Philly legends Bernard Hopkins and Joe Frazier.

Alfonso Jasso lives on the border between Nuevo Laredo, Mexico and Laredo, Texas and studies economics at Texas A&M International University. He is one of our social media experts and manages the site’s Instagram page. His favourite fighters include Orlando Canizales, Salvador Sanchez, Niccolino Locche, Mike McCallum, Bernard Hopkins, and Roberto Duran.

Manny Montreal was introduced to boxing by his dad who sat young Manny down to watch “The Rumble in the Jungle.” Call it love at first sight. Not long after came Mike Tyson and, as Manny himself puts it: “After seeing the ferocity of Iron Mike, how could my eight-year-old self go back to Batman and Hulkamania?” His passion for combat found an outlet on the ice as he engaged in more than his share of hockey fights before later sparring in different Montreal gyms. He’s “Manny Montreal” on facebook and youtube, and @MannyMtl on twitter.

Thad Moore lives in one of the great fight cities of America, the home of Bennie Briscoe, Lew Tendler, Matthew Saad Muhammad, Bernard Hopkins, Smokin’ Joe Frazier, and many others, Philadelphia, PA. A past contributor to The Ring and KO Magazine, Thad loves the history of his city and all the old boxing gyms, managers, trainers, and gym owners with stories that last for days. There’s also a special place in his heart for fighters who have been ripped off by Don King. He can be followed @ThadM44 on Twitter.

Matt O’Brien is from Nottingham, England and became hooked on boxing when Prince Naseem was on the rise. He lost his one and only amateur fight when his corner threw in the towel in round two and he’s still considering a comeback. Having studied at the University of Birmingham and the University of London, Matt now teaches English and writing at the International College in Beijing, China. His favourite boxers are Joe Calzaghe, Marco Antonio Barrera and Felix Trinidad.

Sheila Oviedo is a former journalist and political risk analyst who now works as a product manager in New York City. She writes boxing stories for the sport of it, while regularly training at Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn. Follow her on Twitter @sheila_uncut.

Robert Portis has been a student of pugilism since he was ten years old. He has sparred, fought, trained and worked fights in various locales including New York, Las Vegas, Toronto, Los Angeles, Montreal, London and Atlantic City. His last contest was in 1990; ahead on points, he succumbed to a vicious left hook to the temple in round two and promptly retired. He lives in Montreal.

Jamie Rebner is a die-hard fan and student of the fight game. He was born and raised in Montreal and still calls the great city his home. Reading Evander Holyfield’s biography in his mid-teens put him on the boxing path but his passion extends to all combat sports. His favorite boxers are Holyfield, Thomas Hearns, Alexis Arguello, and Johnny Tapia. Having completed his Master’s in sport psychology, he has a keen interest in the mental side of fighting. Follow Jamie on Twitter @J_NReb.

LeeWylie is from the North East of England. He is known in boxing circles for his highly detailed breakdowns and is generally considered one of the best analysts in the sport. Among his favorite fighters are Joe Gans, Benny Leonard, Roberto Duran, Ezzard Charles, Nicolino Locche, Mike McCallum, Pernell Whitaker and Orlando Canizales. You can follow him on Twitter @leewylieboxing.

Get Involved!

If you are interested in writing for The Fight City please contact us and forward some writing samples. We are always looking for new material and talented people to join our merry band.

We want to hear from you. If you have any comments, questions, suggestions, press releases or information to share with us, please email us at thefightcity@gmail.com.

Hey Bob. Thanks very much for reading. We don’t have a newsletter but you can follow us on twitter @thefightcity, which is where we announce all of our new posts. If you don’t have twitter we’ll gladly figure out another way to keep you in the loop.

Yeah, great site. I was pleasantly surprised when I realized it was Canadian. Maybe you guys could post up future cards in Montreal? Lee Wylie’s videos (which is how I found your site) are excellent as well. Great choice with using Golovkin and Roman Gonzalez as subjects.

DONNYBROOK BOXING GYM

Grant Brothers Boxing

MONSTER GYM

CLUB DE BOXE CHAMPIONS

Transnational Boxing Rankings

The Fight City

Montreal is The Fight City. Known in years past as "Sin City" and "Babylon on the St. Lawrence", it saw more than its share of ring legends over the decades. A metropolis where hundreds of young warriors train and battle each day in its many gyms, it is where Archie Moore, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and Bernard Hopkins all found greatness. It is a city of fights and fighters, of hockey and heroes, of broken dreams and immortal glory, a city unlike any other. Montreal is The Fight City.